


Slicer, Hunter, Trooper, Spy

by Talonticus



Series: Other Talon legacy tales [8]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Cross-faction rivalry, Dialogue Heavy, Drama, F/F, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Rivalry, Sexual Tension, Spies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 05:55:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14442822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talonticus/pseuds/Talonticus
Summary: Accepting a mission to work with an agent from the opposite faction sounds like a catastrophic idea, but friends and competition are difficult elements to resist. This seems destined to end in either profound success or bloodshed.





	1. Nine

**Author's Note:**

> _Hello, I'm Claire Talon or Talonticus and despite the obvious inspiration for the title, this fic's plot has nothing to do with that novel, nor the movie. I just liked the name, because it involves spies._
> 
> _Anyway, the premise for this fic follows the plot I created in[chapter 20](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12627192/chapters/32190387) of "Price of a sun's kiss", so if you haven't read that one, it might be slightly confusing. It's not absolutely necessary to read it, but just thought I'd warn you._   
>  _The Imperial Agent depicted here is Cierah Draconius, which can be seen in the[character list on my blog](https://creativebankruptcies.blogspot.com/2018/12/talon-legacy.html). I'm not sure how "canon" this story actually is for my ficverse, but this is SIS and Imperial Intelligence, so I guess we'll never know._

What was it that her old mentor told her once?  
 _“The SIS will only be a problem if you allow them to be. Deal with them as you please, but keep your blaster on them at all times.”_  
If only it was that easy. 

This isn’t really the type of situation Cierah had expected to find herself in, before she accepted the assignment. It has been quite a while since she was on Port Zodric, a large commercial station in neutral space, owned and controlled by Kemmet Vhir, a nautolan businessman. This den of criminals hadn’t really been of any importance to neither Cierah nor the Empire as of late, which meant that she pretty much ignored its existence.  
However, Jovana’s request changed the circumstances and suddenly, her expertise was needed in this location after all.

This is why she can currently be found walking around in a set of pretty boring grey and blue clothes, which could be described as coveralls, an attire that belongs to the maintenance workers on the station. In this case, she might be seen as a technician who handles supervision of droids and computer systems. This mostly involves making sure that cleaning droids, panels, and other technical equipment are all operating correctly.  
She’s moving around through different sections of the station, not too far from their target – the offices belonging to the Silcore syndicate, a rival or enemy of Bery, Jovana’s friend.

Cierah isn’t sure why she accepted the job to begin with. Perhaps she needed to find a distraction, a mission that might take her away from the Galactic War for a while. Maybe it was the allure of helping her girlfriend out, to show Jovana that she’s willing to perform tasks that are important to the hunter and not just when it’s convenient.   
There’s also a third option, that she found the possibility of working with another agent quite intriguing, one who would usually be on the opposite side of the political shadows. It is this woman’s voice she currently hears from the comm unit in her ear.

“Guard closing in your location. He’s patrolling to the wes-…oh, no, wait. False alarm. Was just checking the door, apparently. Sorry.”

Cierah was just about to take a step back from the terminal she’s currently accessing, but chooses to sigh instead, before she continues. Despite the brief apology, Cierah somehow suspects it was on purpose.  
That one is Shariss Kartur, agent of the SIS. They’re here for the same reason, because they want to help the same people. Although based on the initial briefing, Shariss is apparently a friend of Risha’s. 

In this situation, Shariss is sitting in another location, overseeing the mission progress through the station’s camera system. She has two roles – to provide assistance with avoiding detection and to check that all of the surveillance bugs Cierah places in various computer terminals are correctly connected. 

Another question that Cierah had to ask herself in this regard, is why she actually felt so fascinated by the thought of working with an SIS agent again. It has been a while since she was ‘Legate’, since she was ruled by the whims of the Republic shadow world. Part of her never wanted to return and yet here she is. She can’t deny that she’s enjoying this to a certain extent either, even if Shariss is of a different opinion. 

While Cierah has a believable cover, her real purpose is to slice into a few specific terminals and security panels that can be found along the way, which will give the two agents better opportunities for monitoring Silcore. 

“Alright, no false alarm this time”, she hears Shariss saying. “Two people coming from the door to the east. Just passing by, I think.”

Cierah quickly switches position and sits down with her toolbox close to a hatch on the ground, which has an array of cables within. She doesn’t really know what she’s doing in that regard, but that’s not point, as most people won’t do either. Just like she hoped, the two who enter the room simply continue to move, only giving her a brief glance, before they pretty much forget about her. Cierah swiftly resumes her real task afterwards.

“You know, gotta say it’s kinda amusing to see you in that outfit”, Shariss says over the comm. For some reason, Cierah gets the impression that she’s smirking. “Is this the first time in the last decade that you’ve had to do something like this?”

Cierah rolls her eye, having learnt by now that Shariss likes to tease. She’s uncertain whether that’s general banter or if this is about her connection to a defunct spy network.  
“It hasn’t been that long”, she says quietly, practically whispering. 

“Really? Thought Imperial Intelligence might’ve been too good for the dirtier jobs. Physically dirtier, I mean – I know you’ve killed a lot of people.”

Cierah doesn’t really have time for this type of chat and tries to get them back to the task at hand.  
“Is the connection up?”

“Affirmative.”

“Moving to the next device.”

Everything is calm and silent for a couple of minutes, as Cierah grabs her toolbox and relocates to a second item that they want to slice, which is a panel in one of the narrower corridors.   
Shariss’ voice reappears during this process.  
“So, ‘Cipher Nine’. That’s a pretty interesting codename. How does that even work? Is there a ranking system?”

Cierah glances around the area, making sure that she has enough room to actually speak without being overheard.  
“There were other Ciphers, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Yeah okay, but is that a rank? Are you the ninth best Cipher?”

“…no, it’s simply a codename. It was the first available number at the time. It’s not a system based on skill.”

“And you’re absolutely sure of that? Maybe we should ask Cipher Eight, see what they have to say about it?”

She’s not certain where this sort of discussion originated from, but it does appear that Shariss is eager to push her buttons.  
“I assure you, there is none that have been able to surpass me in performance, even within Intelligence. I would not be here otherwise.”

She hears a quick snort from the mirialan.  
“If you say so, _Nine_.  
Watch out for the droid guard walking behind you, to your right.”

“I have my eye on it already.”

“Tsk. Don’t need my help anymore, huh?”

Cierah exhales through her nose, feeling how it’s becoming a bit excessive right now. It’s difficult to focus on both this complicated task and on trying to keep Shariss’ busy. Perhaps she’s bored over there, and this is her only entertainment. Doesn’t make it easier for Cierah, though.  
“I’m simply stating the fact that I know what I’m doing, and you should trust me.”

“That seems unlikely to ever happen.”

Shortly after, Cierah is done with the second device and moves to the third, which happens to be a terminal in a rather small maintenance booth, nearby Silcore’s main office entrance. Cierah pretends to be working on a few power sockets next to it.   
“Is the connection to the panel working?”

Shariss never verified that one and it actually takes a few seconds until the mirialan responds.  
“Yup, confirmed.  
So…your outfit. Did I mention you look kinda funny this way?”

Cierah slowly shakes her head, wondering if Shariss is neglecting her own job just to make fun of the other agent, or if she’s merely quite adept at multitasking.   
“A few times, yes.”

“Well, you know, I just wonder what they’d say if they saw the ‘mighty’ Cipher Nine walking around in a boring set of coveralls, in the middle of nowhere. Not as glamorous as your old life.”

“If ‘they’ ever find out, whoever they are, I’d not be a very good agent.”

“I have the footage, though.”

“For now.”

It takes a couple of seconds until Shariss is heard again, this time while sounding somewhat excited.  
“Saying you think you can prevent me from posting it all over the HoloNet?”

“I can easily erase it from existence later.”

Shariss chuckles, but it’s hard to tell what the nature behind it might be, whether it’s out of humor or derision.  
“You know, it’s this kind of arrogance that gets you into trouble, Nine. It’s why I don’t normally work with your type and why I can’t stand you in particular.”

Cierah doesn’t have an immediate response for this one, as she can’t deny the fact that she can be difficult to cooperate with. It requires a specific set of strange individuals to deal with her, hence the very colorful team she has.  
However, during her silence, she suddenly considers another angle.  
“That’s not what it sounds like to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re constantly conversing with me, trying to make me comment on every little thing that you notice and answer questions of little importance. Almost makes me believe you enjoy the sound of my voice.”

The few quiet moments that follow this statement are rather strained, filled with tension, to the point where one might suspect she hit home.  
“…shut up”, Shariss eventually tells her. 

“Oh, so now you don’t have any further inquiries about me?”

“Let’s focus on the job.”

No more comments are made during this day.


	2. Eye

At some point, the two of them repositioned, in an attempt to find a safer location for increased surveillance activities.  
Currently, they can be found within an unused maintenance booth, spying through small wall gaps towards an office across the corridors, which belong to Silcore. In these seats, they are mostly hidden from outsiders that would attempt to look in this direction. They are waiting for a specific target, which they hope to pursue, once they’ve confirmed the identity.

For this particular process, they use different tools to accomplish their goal. Both of them want to watch for movement and developments, but they don’t utilize the same equipment. Shariss has a pair of customized electrobinoculars, which actually comes in handy, even if the office isn’t too far away. They have a few different settings that she can access and if the duo has to examine people in the distance, she is prepared.  
Cierah, on the other hand, doesn’t have any exterior gear, but simply employs her cybernetic eye. Based on poses, she looks the most inconspicuous, though that aspect is quickly lost if one were to observe the opened patch.

Occasionally, Shariss glances towards the other agent, making sure that Cierah isn’t trying anything fishy. A few days doesn’t remove the general discomfort and suspicion she feels in the presence of an imperial spy. There have already been several occasions during this mission where she has considered getting rid of Cierah and continuing on her own. One of the reasons why she didn’t was obviously the fact that she promised Risha and Bery to work with this woman. She also realized that it might make her look bad if Cierah never had any such intentions herself. 

After studying her partner carefully for a few more moments, Shariss returns to the binoculars and speaks rather casually.   
“How far can you see with that thing?”

They have chosen to sit a few meters apart, but not enough that they need to yell at each other to be heard. Cierah doesn’t move to address Shariss or show that she caught the question, though. She simply keeps watching the perimeter.   
“Far enough”, she says in an even tone. 

“Does it have several modes too?”

“Yes.”

“Like what?”

There’s a small shrug from Cierah’s shoulders.  
“Infrared vision, night vision, electromagnetic vision, etc. The usual.”

Shariss snorts at how casually this is explained. She’s not sure if it’s to show off or if the other agent mere takes it for granted.  
“Must’ve cost ya a lot.”

“Not really. Imperial Intelligence paid for any expenses.”

“Oh, right, naturally. You guys could do whatever you want”. Her tone makes her sound rather unimpressed.   
“How useful is that thing, though? What if someone sprays a bit of water in your face? Won’t that block your sight?”

She knows the answer, as she has worked with cyborgs before, but she wants to see the Cipher’s reaction. She can’t help the fact that she enjoys messing with this woman.  
Cierah looks rather confused.  
“What? It’s not just a piece of glass. This is highly sophisticated tech.”

“So if I do that, you’ll be just fine?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it.”

Cierah sighs.  
“I simply meant that it won’t be rendered useless with a few drops of water.”

“So I’ll use a bucket, then.”  
The imperial spy rolls her organic eye and shakes her head, but doesn’t respond. She probably suspects Shariss is being ignorant on purpose now.  
“What? Just kinda seems like a disadvantage to me.”

Now, finally, Cierah moves a little bit more. She directs her eyes towards the mirialan and stares at her.  
“Disadvantage? I have several modes, I can see beyond normal human sight, I can even modify it to have certain weapons capabilities. I can kill you with this eye alone. How exactly is that something you can define as a shortcoming?”

It does definitely sound like Shariss is getting to her, but the mirialan can push further. She snorts after Cierah is done.  
“Kill me? Yeah right. You wish, Nine.”

Seeing as how they’re sitting with their sides turned against each other, Cierah takes the opportunity to slowly survey the other agent.  
“You have all too many weaknesses, so it would not be a difficult task to accomplish.”

When she notices how much Cierah stares at her, despite knowing it’s for strategic purposes, Shariss gets an idea. She turns to face her companion knowingly.  
“Hey, how about you focus on the job, instead of undressing me with your super special tech, huh?”

Her attempt is a success, making Cierah almost flinch and her face becomes somewhat flustered.  
“W-what? I…I wasn’t-…we were talking about-“

Shariss looks back into the binoculars and holds up a hand in Cierah’s direction, hoping that it hides her own smirk.  
“Yeah, yeah, I know you can’t resist, Nine, but get back to work already.”

Cierah sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. She’s getting a headache.


	3. Touch

Bugging devices and spying on offices aren’t enough. Sometimes, one has to be more direct and infiltrate physically as well.  
Getting into one of the Silcore offices without being seen wasn’t exactly difficult, but one problem still persists - timing. This situation is pretty sensitive and both women realized that they couldn’t leave a trail, hence why they had to wait until a proper opportunity opened up. It’s time for some real extraction of information.

Technically, both of them are pretty talented slicers, so either of them could have done this solo. Or perhaps that’s why neither of them wished to leave it to the other.  
After closing and locking the door behind them, they turn on the lights and observe the office space within, seeing how it contains several computer terminals, all of them currently deactivated. During their surveillance of this place, Silcore usually had at least one person working in here all the time, but the duo managed to find this small gap in schedules. Won’t last more than an hour at most.

“You should’ve let me deal with this”, Cierah remarks as she approaches one of the terminals, quickly turning it on and easily breaking any network security. “This is just excessive.”

Shariss does something similar, but she picks a console a few meters away. She snorts at the suggestion.  
“What, did you really think I would just let you go at this alone?”

“It was the logical conclusion.”

“Why? Maybe you should’ve let me handle this instead, huh? It’s not like you were needed here.”

“I’m better.”

Shariss turns to stare at the human in disbelief, as she waits for the terminal to load up a few particular files.  
“Banthashit. I’ve done this for years.”

“So have I. I’ve even broken into SIS facilities.” 

“Stop showing off, Nine. No one is impressed.”

The conversation dies down after this and they both start working, focusing on their separate activities, as they have at least managed to divide their tasks somewhat fairly. It soon becomes almost a bit of a contest, to see who can acquire network keys, classified files and critical intel the fastest. The winner will probably be chosen at a later date.  
In the middle of all this, Cierah suddenly stops tapping away and raises her head, as she reacts to a noise from another direction. Most of her implants are focused on increased sight, reflexes and stamina, but she doesn’t need ones to hear what she’s detecting now.

“I think someone is coming.”

Shariss arches her brow skeptically, but stops working for a moment.  
“What? I don’t hear anything.”

“Then listen.”

They both sit silently for a few moments, until the inevitable reveals itself – voices can be heard outside and they do, seemingly, come closer.   
“Ah, shit.”

“Quick, put the terminal on standby and make sure to pull out any-“

“I know, I know! I’m not a rookie, dammit.”

They pause their work and shut down the screens, to make it appear as if nothing is currently activated. Unfortunately, once they’re done, they realize that they’re quite exposed. There are no good and thick desks here that would be useful as hiding spots, as most tables are pretty open underneath. Both agents look around, with a steadily increasing sense of panic as they wonder where they should go.

“What do we do?”, Shariss asks. “Maybe we should just shoot them.”

“That would raise suspicion. We can’t let anyone know.”

“We don’t have a choice!”

In the last twenty seconds, Cierah apparently notices something, and in an act of desperation, she grabs Shariss’ wrist and pulls her towards one of the walls. There are several lockers in that direction, ones that she can easily slice open, but the space within is…limited, to say the least.   
“Get in.”

Shariss looks confused as she eyes the interior. This one appears to be empty and the shelves can easily be folded against the wall to create a little more room, but even then, it’s pretty clear that it’s only large enough to comfortably fit one person.  
“That’s crazy. Both of us can’t stand in there.”

“You have a better plan?”

She turns to glare at the imperial agent, but all Cierah offers in return is a nudge of her head towards the locker. Sadly, there are no other answers.  
“…dammit.”

They squeeze themselves in together and shut the door behind them. Finding a reasonable spot to stand in here proves to be more difficult than they had initially assumed. They spin around, bend their legs and arms in uncomfortable angles, and bump into each other several times. Eventually, they find fairly suitable spots to stand that does not feel unbearable, though by no means satisfying. That was pretty much inevitable.

Their legs are twisted around each other and while Shariss is leaning back against the wall in a position where she can look up at the roof, Cierah’s head is resting close to her neck. Shariss has her arms further up, practically around the human’s neck, while Cierah placed hers further down, along the mirialan’s sides.   
This is definitely not cozy, but they do eventually realize that this is the best location for this purpose, after they have gotten themselves into such a mess. 

Shariss has her eyes closed and tries her best not to focus on how or where they’re standing. That her chest is constantly pushing against Cierah’s, and that the other spy breathes down her neck is…distracting, but she can’t let that overwhelm her. Perhaps humor will be able to make her stop thinking about the touch.  
“You know…I’ve been in a lot of tight spaces”, she whispers, “but this is ridiculous.”

It takes a few seconds for Cierah to respond. She is probably trying to listen to the people that walk around in the office.  
“I hope you don’t blame this on me.”

“You picked it out.”

“But you didn’t have an alternative.”

Shariss opens her eyes, but due to how dark it is in here, that doesn’t make much difference. There might be an internal light switch somewhere, but it’s probably best to ignore it. As the anxiety of this situation is getting to her, she starts moving her hands around, grabbing anything to fiddle with that might distract her. 

“…could you stop doing that?”, Cierah finally asks after a few seconds.

“What?”

“You’re stroking my hair.”

Shariss blinks and then pokes around with one of her hands, realizing that she accidentally grabbed onto Cierah’s ponytail. That wasn’t really what she had in mind and only made this even more awkward.  
"…uh, shit. Sorry, I can’t help it, okay? I have to put my hands somewhere.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to pull on me.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should stop touching my thighs, huh?”

There’s no immediate response, but she does feel how Cierah at least tries to move her hands.  
“That…wasn’t my intention. I wasn’t trying to-“

“I know. Just…let’s try to remain still.”

The people in the office seems to be taking their sweet time, having fun discussing work related stuff and some gossip about other syndicates. If only they realized what was actually going on nearby and started hurrying up instead.  
“Are you wearing perfume?”

Cierah’s question wasn’t expected and Shariss looks confused.  
“…what?”

“I smell something. Has to be from you.”

“Uh…I mean, no. It’s a deodorant. I had a shower before we left. It’s not supposed to smell that much, though.”

“Well, I don’t think it does, normally, but it’s difficult to not detect it here.”

“Well, that’s…true, I guess.”

The comment seemed a little bit strange and she wonders if that was it, but Cierah still has a follow up.  
“It’s nice.”

It’s more mumbled than whispered, as if she wasn’t very confident in it. Shariss can’t help smiling at the thought of it.  
“Is that what you do to all the girls, Nine?”

“What?”

“Lure them into lockers so you can smell them?”

“…I was only trying to be polite.”

“Sure you were.”

Perhaps she was and the fact that she’s making any effort at all, especially in a confined space like this, is…interesting. This is almost the perfect place to eliminate each other, if that’s what they wanted, but it appears Cierah doesn’t have any such plans.  
Once the Silcore workers finally leave, the duo waits for another minute or so. Shariss is the first to break the silence.

“Let’s go?”

“Yes, give me a second.”

Cierah can’t really view the door all that well and has to basically feel around in order to find the correct button. When it finally slides open, it becomes quite difficult trying to push themselves out of here. They are too tangled up for this to be smooth and as they are too eager to take it slowly, it ends in a minor disaster. They stumble into one another and despite trying panicked attempts at grabbing onto any kind of support, they both eventually fall.

Shariss ends up with her back on the ground and the other agent on top of her. Instead of immediately disentangling, they stare into each other’s eyes, the only sound emitted being their heavy breaths.   
There’s been a weird tension between them from the very start and their little talks keeps skirting around the subject, but never approaches it. Shariss is almost about to say something, but that’s when Cierah puts her hands on the floor and pushes herself up. The human contemplates just leaving the other agent in this location, but thinks better of it. She offers her hand and pulls Shariss back to her feet as well.

“Let’s never talk about this with anyone”, Shariss suggests as they return to their assignments.

“Agreed.”


	4. Tension

The last couple of days have been unusually silent between the two. After what happened in that office, both have attempted to bury themselves in work, perhaps in hopes of avoiding the idea that they may have to confront it.   
It is quite a change from previous days in general, due to how rarely they now try to get at each other’s throats or endlessly tease one another. Shariss couldn’t get enough of doing that before, but such ideas appear to have evaporated.

While they sit there and tap away at their respective datapads, inspecting the latest information streams, Shariss eventually checks the time and realizes that she has sat still for too long. She moves around a bit to begin with, but soon figures that getting a shower could be quite beneficial right now. Maybe it’ll make her feel fresh and rejuvenated after all this uncertainty swarming around in her mind.

As she goes to check one of the bags where she keeps some of personal stuff, however, she notices that some items are missing; specifically the shampoo and the shower gel.   
At first, she just finds it a bit weird, figuring that they may have ended up somewhere else in there, or possibly another bag, but her search ends up empty no matter where she looks. This obviously makes her suspicious and she turns to view Cierah.

“Hey, Nine.”

“Hmm?”

“Did you shower recently?”

Cierah halts her investigation momentarily, but doesn’t turn to look directly at Shariss.  
“I did. Yesterday, I think.”

“Right. And did you take some of the stuff in this bag when you did?”

Cierah redirects her eye in that direction, seeing the indicated container.  
“Well, yes. It was the only gear available in here. Felt unnecessary to go searching for it elsewhere.”

Shariss sighs slowly and closes her eyes.  
“…that was my stuff. You used up the last of the shampoo and the shower gel.”

“Oh. Well, sorry. I’ll buy new ones later.”

Normally, they might’ve left it at that. It’s a reasonable tradeoff, even if somewhat annoying. Unfortunately, Shariss is not in the mood to be screwed around right now. She reopens her eyes and turns a sharp frown at Cierah.  
“That’s it, huh? You’re just gonna shrug this off?”

Cierah refocuses on her datapad and offers a rather nonchalant shrug.  
“It was just some haircare products, not the end of the galaxy.”

“It’s not, though. You’ve been doing this the entire time that we’ve been here. I’m getting sick of it.”

These claims surprises Cierah somewhat and she views Shariss rather skeptically.  
“What’s wrong with you?”

Shariss rises to her feet and points at her.  
“And there it is again! That stupidly flippant tone. You keep doing what you want, ignoring my comfort.   
You take my stuff, you constantly try to do missions your way without asking me, you try to steal the information I acquire, and you walk all over me! I’m tired of your shit!”   
She’s practically yelling now, closing the distance between them.  
“You may look down on the SIS as being useless compared to what your old organization did, but I’m not going to take this crap from an imperial dirtbag anymore.”

Instead of an apology and attempts at making compromises, Cierah scowls as well and stands up, getting to the same level.  
“I’m tired of some things too. I can’t stand how you get in my way, that you won’t stop trying to mess with me, to get in my head. And the ridiculing of my imperial title is not acceptable.  
I’m not just some imperial drone and I won’t allow you to do this anymore. Either you stop, or this mission is over for you.”

“Oh, fuck you! This isn’t _your_ mission, _Nine_. I got it from Risha first!”

“That’s false and you know it. We obtained this mission simultaneously.”

They now stand right in front of each other, no more than a few centimeters apart, glaring into the eyes – or eye – of the other.  
“Risha is _my_ friend, not yours.”

“But the mission was not given to you specifically, it was given to us both.”

“You weren’t even supposed to be there!”

“But I was.”

“Yeah, to steal my job, you schutta.” She clenches her hands slightly.  
“Maybe I should just get rid of you, huh? Who would even care about a traitor like you? The Empire wants you dead for what you did, and you destroyed too much in the SIS to ever come back. No one would miss you.”

Cierah’s stance gets somewhat tenser, perhaps preparing for an inevitable clash that might occur. At least she’s not underestimating Shariss.  
“Just try it. You wouldn’t stand a chance against me. The techniques I’ve accumulated through the years are superior to yours. I could kill you in a second and no one would even notice. You’d just be another MIA.”

Shariss shows that she’s not afraid of Cierah’s threats by poking a finger into the Cipher’s chest.  
“Oh yeah, I bet you’ve done that to a lot of people, huh? Because you don’t care about the lives of others. I’d call you heartless, but that makes it sound as if you ever had one, which is blatantly fucking false.”

“I care about doing what’s necessary.” 

“You’re a piece of shit.”

“And you are bloody pathetic.”

Shariss suddenly advances on her, but doesn’t draw any weapons. Instead, she attempts to strike at Cierah with her body, raising her fist against the other agent.   
Luckily, Cierah was very well trained as a Cipher and manages to capture the wrist in the air, shortly before she parries the kick that follows the first move. The two almost fall into a wrestling match after this, as it could go nowhere else but the floor.

That’s when the situation takes a sharp and surprising turn. The next move from Shariss is not to attack, but to lean into Cierah with her head, to an uncomfortably close range. Instead of headbutting her, she locks their lips together in a fierce kiss, without any prior warning. It came so out of nowhere that the imperial spy widens her eye and immediately loosens up, dropping her grip around the Shariss’ arms.

Instead of fighting, she grows weak, which allows Shariss to shove her into the wall, deepening the kiss and pushing her tongue into the human’s mouth, as she does her best to claim unmarked territory. Cierah’s arms move up and slips around Shariss’ neck, while the mirialan grabs her ass and lifts her up. This prompts the Cipher to wrap her legs around the SIS agent too.   
Through groaning, gasping, kissing, biting and licking, they eventually redirect their attention away from the wall. Shariss finds a nearby table, which she places Cierah down on. Rough, but not painful. 

In a haphazard, desperate and coarse manner, they tear each other’s clothes off and forget about work and factions, at least for today.


	5. Intertwined

Silence. No, not quite the type that their previous experiences would suggest.  
It’s not the kind of silence they’ve had for the last few days, the tension and discomfort. It’s also not the silence from the beginning of their partnership, permeated by rivalry, suspicion and competition, possibly even hostility. This silence is in a category of its own, one that neither of them have been able to experience in each other’s company until now. It is marked by content exhaustion, of bliss.

The two women are lying in a small bed together, basically just a mattress, one that shouldn’t really be able to fit both – and wasn’t created for it – but due to their vicinity, it is made possible. They do have two of these, specifically so that they can both sleep somewhere, but the recent development changed the necessity. 

At this time, they’re both quite relaxed and somewhat fatigued, especially Shariss. The mirialan is lying on her back with her eyes closed, one hand held under her head as support. There’s a small, almost ridiculously pleased smile on her lips.  
Cierah is in a similar state of relaxation, albeit still slightly more awake. She’s lying sideways, with one arm under her head, but the other hand slowly strokes its fingertips over the mirialan’s stomach. One of her legs is also positioned on top of her partner’s, but doesn’t move much for now.  
All around their location on the floor lies discarded clothes and gear, ones that they just couldn’t be bothered with placing somewhere specific. They were too distracted by…well, each other.

Eventually, pretty much out of nowhere, Shariss chuckles. She doesn’t explain herself, but maybe she doesn’t need to.  
“Tired?”, Cierah asks softly.

“A little, I guess. You?”

“Somewhat, but my implants can flood me with temporary energy and adrenaline, to keep me going for quite a while longer.”

Shariss opens one eye, smirks and looks at the other woman.  
“Trying to say you can endure more than me, huh?”

Cierah looks mildly amused in response, trying her best to not appear all too smug.  
“I’m saying nothing. Wouldn’t want anyone to believe that I’m killing you through sheer pleasure.”

The other agent shuts her eyes again and laughs softly.  
“This is kinda weird, isn’t it?”, she muses. “I’m not sure this has ever happened between our organizations. I mean, not that you’re part of any group anymore, but…”

“I have a feeling that it has.”

Perhaps not quite the answer Shariss has expected, and she turns to watch Cierah more intently now.  
“What makes you say that?”

Cierah’s fingers keep moving, drifting towards the edge of Shariss’ breasts, but doesn’t go all the way.  
“I think there has always been a tension between our groups. I’m sure this has happened a few times in the past.”

“Pff. Why? Because we can’t resist you?”

The human shrugs, but there’s something stupidly smug with how nonchalant it is.  
“You’re lying naked in my bed.”

Shariss snorts.  
“Oh c’mon, you can’t use this as proof!”

“But I will.”

“This was a joint mission! And you aren’t even in Intelligence anymore! You said it yourself.”

“Details.”

Feeling no actual need to argue, Shariss interrupts herself with a laugh and a shake of her head.  
She forgets what else she wants to say, as she observes Cierah’s reaction to her body, how the Cipher seems to relish caressing her abdomen and thighs. The organic eye is drawn to the same areas.  
“Enjoy looking at me, huh?”

“I won’t pretend that I don’t find you attractive, if that’s what you want to hear.”

“Thought so.”

Eventually Cierah sighs and pulls he eye back up to Shariss’ face, letting their gazes meet.  
“Now that we’re here, I might as well admit that I think your efforts are wasted in your current position. You could be so much more.”

Shariss arches her brow, at first being a little confused, but it is quickly replaced by recognition. What else would someone like Cierah be talking about?  
“What, with Imperial Intelligence that doesn’t exist anymore?”

“Or just work with me in the shadows.”

Not something that Shariss would ever consider, of course, but still a flattering offer. She smiles and grabs Cierah’s chin in a playful manner.  
“You wish, Nine.  
Maybe I should be telling you the same thing, huh? You would do much better in the SIS. I know you’ve already tried it once, but that wasn’t the real thing. We’d have use for you and you’re not as bad as they say.”

Cierah rolls her eyes, finding it amusing how the tune has changed.  
“You wouldn’t want that. I’d be running the organization in a few weeks.”

She makes Shariss laugh again, before the mirialan grabs her cheeks and pulls her in. Their lips collide in another kiss, one out of many during the last few hours. This one is gentler, though, a sign of both their attraction and their respect. Cierah eagerly embraces it, running a hand through Shariss’ hair. They’ve had a lot of fun here and she wouldn’t mind contemplating another round, but also doesn’t want to push it. Perhaps another day.

After their lips part, Shariss still holds her close and Cierah now practically lies on top of her. Again.  
The Republic agent slowly runs one of her thumbs along Cierah’s cheek, watching the grey eye, the nose, the lips.  
“It’s kinda weird that your stupid overconfidence is both annoying and hot.”

“I suppose I have a special talent, then.”

“Tsk. Maybe.  
I wouldn’t mind doing more missions with you in the future, at some point.” 

It’s Cierah’s turn to raise an eyebrow, while she caresses Shariss’ sides once more, almost squeezing them.  
“You really believe we’ll see each other again, do you?”

“I think you liked this too much.”

“You are fun to work with, Kartur, but not irresistible.” 

“We’ll see, Nine. We’ll see.”


End file.
